EMMONS: KEY TO LIFE IS IN SEARCH FOR QUALITY

Ken Emmons converts his collapsible cane into a white baton and orchestrates a funny story.

Laughter brings the conversation to a comfort zone that enables Emmons to move from one subject to the next with the ease of a skilled storyteller.

Emmons, who lost his sight in 1972 to a disease that causes the retina to slowly deteriorate, learned several years ago self-pity was the biggest handicap he could have.

"The man who introduced me to my wife, Teddi, has had a tougher life than me," Emmons said. "The last thing he saw was the car that pulled out in front of him. With my condition, at least I was able to adjust to losing my sight gradually."

Added Emmons, "Some people have handicaps they don't even recognize. I feel like those people are worse off than me because they haven't even begun to address the problem."

His positive outlook on life gained strength when Emmons began to get involved in the Missouri Council of the Blind.

"I joined in 1979 and really started to get involved in 1989," Emmons said. "I made a change for the better when I started to work to help others gain control of their lives the way I did."

Emmons isn't just devoted to helping blind people enhance the quality of their lives. He is a council member of Vision 2000, an organization that looks for ways to enhance the quality of life for everyone in Cape Girardeau.

Emmons, a 1969 Cape Central High graduate, is one of 22 people in Cape Girardeau who are blind. He was elected president of the Missouri Council of the Blind during the organization's convention in St. Joseph last Sunday. The organization has 1,000 members.

"If the job is going to be anything like what I've experienced in the last two days, I'll probably need to hire a secretary," Emmons said, his owlish smile wreathed in a salt and pepper beard.

He already has bent the ear of elected officials in Jefferson City, lobbying to keep the blind pension fund intact.

"That's something that needed our attention," Emmons said. "Something like $13 million was taken from the blind pension fund and shifted into education programs before legislators finally looked into it."

The more involved Emmons becomes in the Missouri Council of the Blind, the harder he tries to think of ways to enhance the quality of life for blind people.

"Twenty-five years ago if you were blind and wanted to get a college education, you had to go into social work," Emmons said. "Now, if you can show that you have the ability to do other things, you can pursue a degree in that field. There are funds available to make that happen."

He has even found ways to enhance his personal life.

"My family was enjoying the movie `Three Men And A Baby' more than me because there were funny moments that had no dialogue," Emmons said.

When he learned about descriptive video, Emmons decided to try it. A separate circuit attached to a video cassette recorder sends a descriptive voice and actually tells what is going on when there isn't dialogue.

"I really enjoyed that movie after I was able to experience it with descriptive video," Emmons said.

Being blind doesn't keep Emmons from taking in his son Andru's high school football game.

"I follow the game by listening to the roar of the crowd and what other fathers say about a good tackle or a long run," Emmons said. "I can't really tell if Andru has made a tackle unless someone else tells me. But I can still take in the atmosphere and root for him to play well and win."

Although the disease that caused his blindness is hereditary, Emmons said tests have shown Andru and daughter Brandi aren't likely to inherit it.

"Three of my sisters have inherited it, but I've got seven brothers and sisters who weren't affected," Emmons said.

When he isn't spending time with his family, Emmons is thinking of different ways to gain information about the world around him.

"The Wolfner Library in Jefferson City will mail you descriptive videos, books written in Braille and cassettes for no extra charge," Emmons said.

There is a limited selection of Braille books in the Cape Girardeau Public Library. But Emmons said he is grateful for the use of the Hirsch Room when the River City Workers for the Blind meet.

"It used to be we could get a room to hold our meetings almost anywhere," Emmons said. "But because everyone has become so lawsuit happy, insurance companies say a group like ours would be too much of a risk. At least the Cape Library is good enough to give us this room once a month."

Emmons also is looking forward to using his new computer to hear messages sent from another computer.

"It works through a voice synthesizer that is attached to the computer," Emmons said.

"Technology is advanced enough that there will be products out there that will help blind people as much as anyone else," Emmons said. "But you have to get involved enough to learn what is out there and tell others what they've been missing."

He added,"If all you do is attend to your own needs and help no one else from the time you were born to the time you die, your life has meant nothing."